Schaeff Group: Activities are expanding to the US

An area of emphasis of the Schwäbisch Hall-based Schaeff Group is the oil and petrochemical industry. Since a majority of the industry activities are based in the US or coordinated from there, establishing a local subsidiary was a logical step towards intensifying contact with the companies located there. Alexander Schaeff, Managing Partner of the Schaeff Group, has enlisted Stephan Jakob for this challenge.

Jakob was previously the Managing Director of the compressor specialist FIMA Maschinenbau in Obersontheim-Oberfischach, Germany, which is a part of the Schaeff Group.

"There is a large market for our equipment in the US," he explained, "and if we acquired only a small fraction, it would be a huge success."

The US economy is currently in a growth phase.

"The products from Germany continue to have an outstanding reputation in the US," added Alexander Schaeff. "We have a high potential for innovation, very good quality, and are closely engaged in the markets."

In early 2016, Stephan Jakob will be relocating with his family to Houston, Texas, the center of the US oil and gas industry, for an initial period of five years. He will establish a subsidiary of the Schaeff Group in which he will hold one-third of the shares.

After Houston, Chicago is the second center of the US oil industry in the north, so part of the new company's activities will play out near the Great Lakes. In addition to the compressors and fans from Oberfischach, Jakob will also position other machines and equipment from companies belonging to the Schaeff Group, such as assembly components and feeding solutions for automation from the German-Swiss company AFAG. It is already known as one of the world's leading providers of modular handling technology and feeding technology with innovative, high-quality products.

Along with the sales of machinery and equipment from the Schaeff Group, the newly established company in the US will also focus on service in the initial phase: "When the first equipment has been delivered in the US, the customer service must also be up to the task", explained Stephan Jakob.